TRIP INITIATIVE
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Donate
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • ALUMNI GALLERY
    • Ursinus 2015
    • Temple 2015
    • WTHS 2016
    • Temple 2016
    • WTHS 2017
    • Temple 2017
    • WTHS 2018
    • Temple 2018
    • WTHS 2019
    • Temple 2019
    • WTHS 2020
    • WTHS 2021
    • Temple 2021
    • WTHS 2022
    • Temple 2022
    • WTHS 2023
  • Symposium Schedule
    • Session A
    • Session B
  • Science Day

Regular updates from students in TRIP

New Beginnings by Jackson Barlow

4/19/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hello everyone and welcome back! As you know my name is Jackson Barlow and I just recently finished my first five weeks of my TRIP adventure. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time so far at TRIP, although sometimes it is hard to get out of bed bright and early in the morning. I’ve made many friends with my classmates and they are one of the many reasons that make this experience so enjoyable. During these past weeks I got to test melatonin’s effect on head trauma through a negative geotaxis assay. This process was very tedious and I learned how precise you had to be with data analysis. I also learned that my hands aren’t very steady as I often would drop the vial or my phone would fall over when I was snapping a picture of the flies at a fixed position. 
Following my testing and data analysis, I learned that melatonin has little effect on fly motility when it is paired with head trauma. In the positive realm, my data supported the idea that melatonin has a positive effect on control flies.
I will be testing...how caffeine affects cognitive function and memory
I could not be more excited about the upcoming weeks in which I will be conducting my independent research project. Originally, I had no clue what I wanted to study. Ideas flowed through my head such as continuing research into head trauma or branching off into a new realm of sleep deprivation, but after consideration from Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, and my peers, I branched off in a completely different direction -- cognitive function. My research question that I will be testing in the upcoming weeks is how caffeine affects cognitive function and memory. I will be testing the effects of caffeine on the flies by creating four vials and running a larval memory assay. Three of the vials will contain caffeine and one will be a control. The three vials with caffeine will have different levels of caffeine exposure. One vial will contain a dilute solution of the recommended daily consumption of caffeine (400 mg), the second being double the recommended daily consumption of caffeine, and the final vial will be triple the recommended daily consumption of caffeine.
Picture
By conducting this experiment, I hope to see if the daily consumption of caffeine that most teenagershave has an effect on their daily lives, specifically their memory. I hypothesize that the caffeine will have a negative effect on developing larval brains, leading to a decrease in memory and knowledge of their surroundings in the assay. ’ll be sure to keep you all posted! Thanks for reading!
0 Comments

Time Is FLYING by by Nicholas Mento

4/18/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hello Everyone!  The weeks have been flying by so quickly. It is great to meet new people during TRIP and connect with each other which helps make the program even better!  I have recently finished my introductory experiment about how fly mood was affected by head trauma and rhodiola by using the social space assay.  This experiment definitely made me feel much more comfortable in the TRIP lab and I improved my knowledge about how to run an experiment and make a slideshow presentation to share my findings with my peers.  This experiment has also allowed me to improve my ability to analyze data and draw conclusions from this research.  This has let me communicate with others about my research much more effectively. Also, learning how to properly cause head trauma in fruit flies was quite interesting (I did feel a little bad doing it though.)
Picture
The project I decided on doing for my independent research was how sleep deprivation caused by constant light and a high sugar diet can affect fruit flies' mood, specifically depression and sociality. I chose this topic because many of my friends along with myself constantly stay up very late and do not get enough sleep and it is of interest to see the possible effects of this on their mood and sociability. Also, the average American eats around 3 times the recommended amount per day of sugar, which is insane and I am interested in if sociality or depression can be affected by this. In order to do this experiment I will use the Social Space Assay and the Forced Swim Test which will let me learn a new way of testing depression in flies.  I will continue this experiment next time in the lab by making a high sugar solution to add to my fly food along with sorting the 200 flies I need! 

I am excited to learn the results of my experiment and cannot wait to share them with you.
0 Comments

Time Is Flying By! by Maegan Sojan

4/13/2023

0 Comments

 
Welcome back! Last time you heard from me, we were just getting started on our kickoff experiments and finding our way around the lab! We are just heading into week six, and so much has happened since then. After learning how to sort the flies, I transferred them into the vials - where they would eat, sleep, and grow for the next seven days. The hardest part about sorting was not only identifying male and female flies but also doing so in fifteen minutes. I definitely may have over-drugged some of them, but I promise my fly-sorting skills have gotten much better since then! 
Picture
Picture
Picture
The following week, I was able to test the effects of licorice and soap on the flies’ mood through the social space assay. To conduct the assay, I placed four flies from each vial into separate, transparent chambers to record the distance they traveled. The average distance measured was used to quantify their sociability and thus their mood. Although the assay was quite simple to perform, it was time-intensive and required me to pay close attention to detail. As I expected, the soap flies were less social than the control, but so were the flies in the licorice and soap + licorice vials. The flies exposed to both the soap and licorice were the least social among all of the flies. I shared these results, my assay, and final conclusions to the entire group during our presentations on week four. The kickoff experiment has given me lots of confidence working with fruit flies, taught me about various assays, and helped me appreciate the importance of teamwork!
I will be testing the effects of DNA methylation (caused by glyphosate - a herbicide) on female fertility.
Picture
Although the social space assay was fun, I’m ready to explore the other assays available. For my independent project, I will be testing the effects of DNA methylation (caused by glyphosate - a herbicide) on female fertility. Originally, I planned to use nitrogen dioxide instead of glyphosate as I was interested in studying the effects of air pollution on embryonic development. My neighborhood sits right next to a quarry and is surrounded with multiple power plants, emitting pollutants such as CO2, NO2, and SO2. For years, several of my neighbors raised issues about the long-term effects of exposure to toxic pollutants, so I was curious to test this out myself. However, using NO2 as my drug wasn’t feasible since it would’ve been difficult to determine a concentration that wouldn’t have killed the flies. Its odorless and colorless properties made this even harder! So, I opted to test the effects of glyphosate - the active ingredient in RoundUp - on female fertility instead. With Pennsylvania being an agricultural state, I was interested in testing the effects of the most commonly applied pesticide on developing youth. Finally, my project will also explore whether turmeric can counter the negative effects of DNA methylation. Since turmeric is a staple in my family’s dishes, I figured it would be an interesting drug to test. 

I plan to conduct the female fertility assay on the P1 generation of flies as well as collecting developmental data about pupal eclosion. Hopefully this TRIP goes just as planned! Until next time…
0 Comments

What's Leaching In From Your Takeout Container by Anne Pallozzi

4/12/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
How does Holy Basil and intestinal inflammation affect fruit fly mood? Five weeks ago, I had no idea what the answer to this question was or what Holy Basil even was. In these past few weeks of TRIP, I’ve learned all of that and so much more. I always knew I wanted to go into scientific research and my experiences with TRIP have just about confirmed that this is the right career for me! We started this internship by working on a kick-off project: a project meant to teach us about working in the lab and handling fruit flies. I worked with Holy Basil, which is a member of the mint family reported to have anti-inflammatory properties, and intestinal inflammation. To see the effects of this combination, I looked at fruit fly mood and analyzed my results. Now, you’d think that an anti-inflammatory drug would counteract the effects of inflammation, but there was no correlation shown in my results. While this wasn’t the result I was anticipating (and though some may even consider it a failure), I am just so happy to be running experiments on my own and learning all that I can!

“Does the consumption of BPA have an effect on fruit fly development and/or female fertility?”
Now that I’m all done with my kick-off experiment, now it is time for me to start my independent project. The hardest thing I think I’ve done so far in TRIP was pick a topic to research for my independent project. Though most people don’t mention this, seeing all the options available to me for different drugs and stressors and tests to run on the fruit flies was so overwhelming at first. Still, I was able to work through it and I’ve settled on my research question: “Does the consumption of BPA have an effect on fruit fly development and/or female fertility?” To understand why this question is important, you first have to understand what BPA is. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is commonly found in polycarbonate plastics, like the ones in plastic drinking cups and plastic takeout containers. Then, it leaches into your food and you eat it without ever knowing it was there. Though originally thought to be harmless, research now indicates that BPA might negatively affect female fertility. Recently, BPA was banned in the production of sippy cups and baby bottles, which made me start wondering just exactly how BPA affects human health.
As of now, I can only hypothesize what effects BPA will have on female fertility and development. It’s hard to believe that I’m going to be presenting this information to a crowd of people at the symposium in just about 2 months. Though I am nervous, I know that it’ll be here before I know it and I’ll be super prepared, with help from Dr. Lyestra and Dr. Purdy! I’ve already grown so much in the past five weeks & I can’t wait to see how much more I’ll have grown when TRIP is all over!​

0 Comments

Blog 2 by Rohan Ramprasad

4/11/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hey everyone, it’s Rohan here, and it's great to see you all again! We have just finished week 5 and are moving onto week 6! The time is really “flying” by! Over the past couple of weeks we have been working through our kickoff experiment projects, and my research question was How do Rhodiola and Head Trauma affect Anxiety in Fruit Flies? Weeks prior I had sorted 30 male and 30 female flies, using CO2 gas to knock them out, each into 4 different vials, and the vials were a control, stressor only, drug only, and stressor and drug vial. After these flies lived in their respective vials for a week, I needed to test the anxiety of my flies, which I did using an “Open Field Test”. The open field test puts 3 files into dishes and watches their movement. The closer they are to the side of the dish, the more anxious they are, and the closer to the middle they are, the less anxious they are. After taking pictures, collecting my data, and analyzing it I put together a presentation for my peers to learn about my kickoff experiment. My results were inconclusive, yet despite this, I learned so much! I learned how to properly run an experiment using an assay and how to collect and analyze various kinds of data. 

Can Bilberry Extract ameliorate the negative effects of induced heat shock on Drosophila melanogaster health, as measured by negative geotaxis?
Picture
We are currently transitioning to our independent project and after a long day of planning it out, I have decided to investigate the question, Can Bilberry Extract ameliorate the negative effects of induced heat shock on Drosophila melanogaster health, as measured by negative geotaxis? Bilberry Extract contains a chemical compound called Anthocyanins. Through my work in critical care medicine on Ambulances, I have discovered that heat shock/stroke can be extremely detrimental to humans and there are virtually no fast acting medications that work against the adverse effects of heat stroke/shock. One part of Anthocyanins is that they can act as an anti-inflammatory supplement. This part of Anthocyanins could mitigate the effects of heat shock on human bodies as they tend to cramp up and cannot move after heat shock. By giving them high doses of Anthocyanins, they could then be relieved, internally, of all the inflammation caused by the heat shock and thus improve their mobility. To measure their mobility, I am using an assay called Negative Geotaxis which essentially measures the movement of flies in a short time frame. 

Picture
Over the next couple of weeks I will be running this experiment and I am very excited to see the results. Who knows, maybe one day the research I do here could save lives in the community! See you all next week!
0 Comments

My TRIP So Far! by Aidan Gor

4/10/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Welcome back! Currently, I have just finished the fifth week of my TRIP Journey! During the first couple of weeks, I learned how to use micropipettes and actually deal with the fruit flies themselves! It was very exciting, as this was my first time actually learning and applying lab skills to an experiment! After that, I conducted an experiment testing the effect of a high sugar diet on anxiety, and seeing if fenugreek could cancel out this effect. I collected behavioral data using the Open Field Test Assay to test how anxious the adult flies were and developmental data as well. I then presented my findings to the rest of the people in my session; doing this and receiving feedback was crucial in my development of becoming a scientific communicator. I still cannot believe the fact that we, as researchers, can conduct experiments on tiny model organisms, such as fruit flies, and apply our conclusions to humans!
Picture
Picture
For my independent project, I wanted to conduct an experiment that would be meaningful in the world of cognitive neuroscience, since I have family members with neurological conditions such as Autism and Parkinsons. I wanted to model these conditions in fruit flies, and after reading papers, brainstorming over weekends, and receiving some help from Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, and my fellow TRIP peers, I finally decided on an experiment. I plan to test the effects of Huperzine-A, an active ingredient found in memory supplements, on memory in teens with some form of memory disturbance, such as Autism or ADHD. I plan to model this experiment by exposing flies and larvae to constant light to create memory disturbance. Then, I plan to conduct a larvae memory assay to assess changes in memory. I will also measure how memory was affected in flies without memory disturbance as well.

Overall, I am very grateful for what I have already learned in this program so far, and I can’t wait to conduct my independent experiment!
0 Comments

A New Phase In TRIP! by Henry Bai

4/6/2023

0 Comments

 
Hello everyone! I can’t believe it’s now been more than a month since I first walked into the TRIP lab. I’ve already learned so much about different scientific equipment and the process of experimental design during this time! In these past couple weeks, I’ve wrapped up our introductory experiment and began the process of conducting my independent project! 
Picture
In my introductory experiment, I tested the impact of melatonin and disrupted circadian rhythm on the mood of flies. After conducting analysis, I concluded that melatonin led to declines in fly social interactions. On the other hand, the stressor (constant darkness) caused the flies to have increased social interactions. I found this unexpected, considering the flies would have difficulty interacting on a day-to-day basis while shrouded by the aluminum foil cover that was over them. 
Moving forward, I’ll be working on my independent project. Coming into the program, I knew that I wanted to study the impact of some kind of air pollution on fly development. In the past two weeks, I’ve honed in on a research question: “What is the impact of short term, acute exposure to a wildfire smoke, methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mixture on organismal memory?”
“What is the impact of short term, acute exposure to a wildfire smoke, methane, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mixture on organismal memory?”
Picture
I thought that this question is impactful because in cities in the western United States, such as Los Angeles, people are affected by wildfire smoke and pollution from industry, commonly in the form of VOCs. Through this experiment, I hope to better understand some factors that may play a role in the impact of air pollution on humans and animals. This weekend, I will be exposing the flies to the mixtures and practicing my adult memory. 
TRIP has been very exciting with Dr. Purdy, Dr. Leystra, our TAs, Keith and Austin, and of course my other TRIP peers! I’ve learned so much so far!
Picture
0 Comments

Flying Into Independent Projects by Arushi Vignesh

4/5/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
 Woah! I can’t believe we are already almost halfway through our TRIP! These past few weeks have not only been about getting to know the lab and basic procedures with fruit flies, but also about getting to know our peers, TAs, and instructors better! We started off by learning how to knock flies out and sort them by gender. We learned how to make good presentations and presented our kickoff experiments to the group. Oh! Looks like I forgot to mention the kickoff experiment. ​
Picture
For my kickoff experiment, I tested the effects of Black Cohosh and a disrupted circadian on female fertility. Black Cohosh is a natural herb which is used to treat menopausal symptoms and circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that all bodily functions follow. Since I don’t always eat and sleep at the exact same time every day, I wondered how this might affect female fertility. While doing this experiment, I learned about and used female fertility assay, how to count embryos on a grape plate, and how to collect and analyze scientific data. But most importantly, I found this to be a very humbling experience: I realized that although I might have a small background knowledge in science, there is always so much more to learn about!

 I decided to test how curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, affects the inflammation caused by a high fat diet.
Picture
Last but not the least, we just began to discuss our independent projects. I decided to test how curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, affects the inflammation caused by a high fat diet. I personally grew up under the impression that turmeric was the solution to every problem (my family basically uses turmeric in everything). I have wondered what this actually does to the body and how this might affect, and potentially counteract the effects of inflammation caused by a high fat diet. In the future, I also hope that this research provides a segue into how turmeric can counteract effects of inflammation caused by diseases like Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colon cancer.

0 Comments

The TRIP of a Lifetime by Maegan Sojan

4/4/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Hello everyone! My name is Maegan Sojan, and I’m currently a junior at Great Valley High School. A little about me - I love baking all kinds of desserts, am an avid crossword puzzle enthusiast (especially the NY Times Minis), and love watching movies with my family! Within my school community, I’m part of a diverse array of clubs and activities. For the past two years, I’ve served as an officer for our Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Club, cultivating a community of girls with a passion for STEM. I’m also an active member in our school’s GirlUp Club, Science Olympiad, NHS, and the student forum (part of our student council). Outside the classroom, I’ve been able to explore and develop my interests in women’s advocacy, specifically through a program called the Girl’s Advisory Board (GAB). Here, I’ve learned about the various needs of women and girls in Chester County like poverty, domestic violence, and reproductive care. Through the program, we’ve been able to tackle some of these issues by awarding grants to local nonprofits and volunteering at them, as well. Through advocating for others, it has sparked an interest in me to make healthcare accessible to all, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

Picture
Being involved in activities that focus on improving gender equality, I’ve taken an interest in pursuing a career in the reproductive sciences. However, I know there are a plethora of pathways in medicine and wouldn’t want to limit myself to just one specialty. Through TRIP, I hope to discover other careers that I may like just as much as reproductive healthcare, or maybe even weed out fields I don’t particularly enjoy! As a result, I’m excited to conduct my initial experiment on the effects of licorice and soap on the fruit flies’ mood. I’m also eager to further enhance my lab skills and become more comfortable in making mistakes. In my previous science classes, I haven’t had access to such fancy equipment and always operated under the guidance of my teachers. I hope to navigate my way around the lab and this newfound independence as the weeks go on! 

My first day in the lab was nerve-racking, exciting, and adventurous, all at once. I got to know all of the students in my session a little better through the icebreaker, but unfortunately I wasn’t lucky enough to win the WAWA gift card! Afterwards, we were given a tutorial on how to use the micropipette and were allowed to practice on our own, before using them to set up our own vials. At first, I was a little shaky in setting up the vial, but with each round of micro-pipetting, mixing, and measuring, I became more comfortable in creating my treatments. With even just the four vials I set up, I quickly fell into the rhythm of finding my way around the lab. I have to admit, the solutions and dilutions packet we were given to work on was definitely not the most exciting, but I look forward to completing those problems with ease towards the end of the program!
 With even just the four vials I set up, I quickly fell into the rhythm of finding my way around the lab.
Overall, my first day couldn’t have gone better! I met so many new people, and the atmosphere was very lively - with all of us enjoying the music while we worked. I can’t wait to go on this journey and take you with me; thanks for reading and I hope you stick around!
0 Comments

Let's Take a TRIP Into My Life by  Rohan Ramprasad

4/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Hello everyone, my name is Rohan Ramprasad and I am very excited to be a part of TRIP @ WTHS’23! 
Picture
Picture
I am a current Junior at The Downingtown STEM Academy in the Health & Medicine Pathway, and one day, I hope to work in the medical field. Outside of school I am a part of numerous health care extracurriculars including being a an certified Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Room/Intensive Care Unit Volunteer, and even recently founded a passion project I called Project Save a Life, which aims to educate communities on basic critical care medicine practices like CPR, AED, and First Aid, all free of cost, to mitigate the morbidity rates resulting from traumatic injuries. I am fascinated with the fields of trauma medicine and public health and their interaction, creating a niche field of medicine where I can not only indulge in the adrenaline rush of critical care when necessary, but also in finding ways to mitigate the need for such care via preventive health care measures. This exact reason is why I decided to join TRIP.  Before TRIP, I never sat down to realize the importance of lab research in its relation to patient care. ​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Apart from my life in academia, I love to play basketball whenever I get the chance. I played High School Basketball for Downingtown East for 2 years and continue to play pick-up hoops in my community. I also keep in touch with my cultural heritage by playing the classical “Carnatic Flute”, a 8-hole bamboo instrument originating hundreds of years ago in South India. My favorite cuisine apart from Indian food is Mexican food, and I love eating Chipotle whenever possible.

This past Saturday we had our first day where we learned the basics of lab procedures like micropipetting, the math involved with diluting solutions, and even making fly food for our upcoming experiments! I have been assigned the question: How do rhodiola and head trauma affect anxiety? This is a preliminary research assignment before we synthesize our own research question as this assignment topic gets us started with laboratory procedures and how to run an experiment. I am very excited for next Saturday and the opportunity to finally examine fruit flies when drugs and stressors are involved.  I can not wait for these next couple weeks with Dr. Purdy and Dr. Leystra and for what they have planned for us! 
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Blog 1: Introductions!
    Blog 2: Planning An Independent Project
    Blog 3: Reflections

Company

About
Fox Chase Cancer Center

Support

Contact
​Menu
WEBSITE DESIGN INFORMATION:
The TRIP Initiative website was built by Alesandra (Sasha) Temerte (TRIP@TU'17 alum) ​ and Charity Robbins (TRIP@TU'22) and is not a product of Fox Chase Cancer Center
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
WEBSITE DESIGN BY ALESANDRA SASHA TEMERTE & CHARITY ROBBINS
LOGO DESIGN BY ARNAV DHINGRA
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Donate
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • ALUMNI GALLERY
    • Ursinus 2015
    • Temple 2015
    • WTHS 2016
    • Temple 2016
    • WTHS 2017
    • Temple 2017
    • WTHS 2018
    • Temple 2018
    • WTHS 2019
    • Temple 2019
    • WTHS 2020
    • WTHS 2021
    • Temple 2021
    • WTHS 2022
    • Temple 2022
    • WTHS 2023
  • Symposium Schedule
    • Session A
    • Session B
  • Science Day